In a landmark decision today the Supreme Court of India upheld the Aadhaar Act, the use of the money bill route for its legislative passage and the use of mandatory Aadhaar-based identification for government welfare schemes, the expenditure for which is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India. Most mandatory private use of Aadhaar has been struck down.

"We may record here that (Aadhaar) enrolment is of voluntary nature. However, it becomes compulsory for those who seeks to receive any subsidy, benefit or service under the welfare scheme of the government expenditure whereof is to be met from the Consolidated Fund of India." - Supreme Court Majority Judgment

In a 567 page majority judgment, authored by Justice Sikri and concurred upon by two other judges—Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar—the Supreme Court answered five questions:

Whether the Aadhaar project creates or has tendency to create surveillance state and is, thus, unconstitutional on this ground?

Whether the Aadhaar Act violates the right to privacy and is unconstitutional on this ground?

Whether children can be brought within the sweep of Sections 7 and 8 of the Aadhaar Act?

Whether several sections of the Act are unconstitutional?

Whether the Aadhaar Act could be passed as ‘Money Bill’ within the meaning of Article 110 of the Constitution?

In a third incentive package for sugar mills in four months, the Union government on Wednesday announced a Rs 5,500-crore package for the sugar industry, including over two-fold jump in production aid to cane growers and transport subsidy to mills for exports.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the package to address the surplus production and stock of sugar in the country.

The measures since June have ranged from higher price for ethanol extracted from sugarcane to financial assistance to sugar mills to create ethanol capacity and are aimed at helping the cash-starved mills clear Rs 13,000 crore they owe currently to farmers before the 2019 general elections.

"Sugar production is high (in the last two years). It’s expected that sugar output next year will remain high. Therefore, a comprehensive policy has been approved by the CCEA to deal with the excess production." - Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister

Infrastructure & Leasing Finance Services Ltd., which has triggered concerns in the bond market after multiple defaults, plans to raise funds from its shareholders at less than half the valuation assigned by bankers.

The board of the infrastructure lender approved selling shares to raise Rs 4,500 crore from existing shareholders led by the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

It approved a price of Rs 150 apiece for the rights issue subject to approval at its Sept. 29 annual general meeting.

That’s a 57 percent discount to the valuation of Rs 350 per share arrived at by SBI Capital Markets Ltd. for the share sale.

The auditor resignation saga in India continues to take interesting twists and turns. An auditor of 8K Miles Media Pvt. Ltd. quit alleging that the company forged his signatures on bank investment certificates to transfer money abroad.

In April, Chennai-based GHG Associates Chartered Accountants tendered its resignation to 8K Miles Media alleging that the company misused the audit firm’s letter head, seal and signature of one of the audit partners, according to the resignation letter that surfaced recently.

The alleged forgery was done in nine overseas direct investment certificates submitted by 8K Miles Media to Indian Bank’s Porur Branch for transferring a total of $7.15 million to the company’s unit in New Jersey.

8K Miles Media is connected to publicly listed company 8K Miles Software Services. Its directors Suresh Venkatachari and Rama Subramani Ramani are promoters of the listed company, with Venkatachari holding a 55 percent stake. He’s also chief executive officer in both companies.

The Federal Reserve is poised to increase interest rates for a third time this year as it publishes forecasts that are expected to bolster expectations for another move in December and a continued pace of gradual tightening in 2019.

The Federal Open Market Committee is almost certain to raise rates a quarter point at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday to a target range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent -- the highest level in more than a decade.

In June, the FOMC was nearly evenly divided, with eight participants favoring at least four hikes this year, while seven favored three or fewer moves. The balance is likely to become more lopsided this week.